Snow Day
by Naunet42
Summary: As a homeless kid, Billy Batson is not that enthusiastic about the winter. But an encounter in the park might just change that.


_I have no idea how this happened. Probably because I'm so exited for the Shazam movie this year and because I've been reading too many RotG fanfiction lately. Jack and Billy deserve some love. Sorry if this doesn't fit into any kind of canon, I know neither fandom very well and decided to do my own thing with both characters. It's set before both stories anyway. Enjoy :)_

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"achoo!"

 _Great_ , Billy thought, _getting ill was just what I needed_. He blew his nose again and tried to keep his head down, so the cold wind would not blow his hood back. The sudden temperature drop and unexpected snow last night had made many children very happy, but for Billy it was a problem. Not that he didn't enjoy snow, in fact he loved building snow men as much as any other boy his age, but in his special situation the onset of winter was not as fun. Winter was the season where it really sucked to be homeless.

He had hoped to have more time before first snow, another week at least, to make the abandoned building he occupied at the moment more suitable for the harsh weather. Instead, the draft from the broken window downstairs and the snow that came through a hole in the roof got the better of his immune system and he had woken up with a stuffed nose. _Thank you, Jack Frost._

„achoo!" he sneezed again.

Billy shivered and hoped that it was not the first sign of a fever. He could not afford to be seriously ill, not in general and especially not before he had repaired his shelter. He was thankful that the thick coat he wore still fit him, he had found it last year in a charity shop and had grown alot since then.

He had reached the park, the last part of his way home, when a particularly strong gust blew under his hood and left his head exposed. He looked up before pullig his hood down again and that was when he saw him.

He was a boy, a bit older than him, about 14 or 15 years maybe, although his hair was a mop of pure, shining white. He wore only a blue hoodie and ragged brown pants without shoes on his naked feet. He also had a staff in his hand, long and hooked like a shepherd's crook, that he handled like an extension of his arm. But the most remarkable thing was his smile, that shone with pure happiness and his eyes that sparkled with joy. He was dancing with the wind over the frozen grass, or maybe it was the wind dancing with him. The movements were wild and energetic but also strangely elegant. Like an ice skater he seemed to be gliding over the ground, jumping and twisting, a swirl of fresh snow following him.

The sight was strange, but the fun the boy radiated was so contagious Billy couldn't help but match his grin. In this moment the cold didn't matter, and neither did his stuffed nose. He would have loved nothing more than to join the strange boy in his dance and enjoy the same bliss of freedom he did.

It took another person jostling him for Billy to notice that he had stopped in the middle of the walkway to watch. He looked around and wondered how the other people could ignore this spectacle, but exactly that was what was happening. While the boy danced on, Billy seemed to be the only one paying him any attention and even the people who were closer, those who the boy almost touched, did not glance up once.

Billy furrowed his brows. Was he the only one who could see the boy? And if so, why? He really hoped this was not some kind of fever dream. He had read that you could get those if your fever was dangerously high. But no, he felt relatively well otherwise, only a stuffed nose and the sneezing. Maybe the boy was just invisible? Or a ghost? Or he was losing his mind.

Billy had always been too curious for his own good and even his time on the streets had not managed to change that. He also had a bit of reckless tendencies, that others might have called brave, but he often found foolish. On the other hand, the boy did not look dangerous and Billy really wanted to know what was going on, so he walked closer.

The other had slowed his dance to a tame walz and had closed his eyes. His earlier wild energy was gone and now he seemed to relish every single step and every turn. He was so engrossed in the music only he could hear, that he didn't notice Billy approaching, and neither did he notice the young woman with the baby carriage he was heading for. It was an accident waiting to happen, because just like the other people, the mother seemed completely oblivious to the boy's presence. _If he really is invisible_ , Billy thought, _this is going to be awkward_.

„hey!" He shouted. „Watch out!"

He wasn't really sure which of them he was addressing, but only one reacted anyway. The mother stopped and turned around to him, alarmed, while the boy continued his movement, crashing right into the woman and her carriage.

But no, instead of landing in a tangled heap on the ground, the young mother just looked around very confused while the boy passed _right through her_. Then he shuddered and raised his free hand to his chest with a breathless gasp. He opened his eyes and reoriented himself just in time to avoid being passed through by the woman a second time when she continued her way. Billy blinked a few times and continued to stare at him. Intangibility, that made him… a ghost?

„Wow, I'll never get used to this," the boy said to himself and flopped down into the snow a few meters away from to the path. His good mood had evaporated, instead he looked dejected and gloomy while he stared up at the starless sky.

Billy crouched down next to him. Close up he could see how unhealthily pale the boy's skin was and that his hoodie was covered with a thin layer of ice. Maybe he was the ghost of someone who froze to death. Scary thought. He didn't look very vengeful or anything, though, and Billy could not imagine that someone who had died in the cold would dance in the snow instead of passing on to the afterlife.

„Hey, are you OK?" he asked the ghost quietly, still worried about the reaction he had to being walked through. „Hey, can you hear me?" he asked again, a bit louder this time, but the boy still ignored him and continued to stare glumly at the dark sky.

Maybe he was as invisible to ghost as the boy was to other people? Or maybe sound did not carry into the ghost world? Billy had no idea how stuff like this worked and he really hoped he would not hurt the boy further with what he was about to try.

The ghost sat cross-legged in the snow, or rather on the snow, since he didn't seem to disturb it. His staff sat in his lap and he leaned back on his hands, head tilted back to look up. Billy looked around, but the few people at the park were on their way home and paid him no mind. He slowly reached out and touched the hand carefully, and against his expectations his fingers did not pass through, instead he felt the ghost's cool skin.

The reaction was instantaneous, the boy startled horribly, letting out a loud scream and jumping up in the air with a sudden gust of wind. He had his staff pointed at Billy before the younger could even pull his hand back and the crook was crackling dangerously with blue energy. Billy and the ghost stared at each other, both wide-eyed and frozen in shock.

Billy was the first to move, he raised his hands slowly, trying to be as little threatening as possible and calming the poor boy down. „I'm sorry," he said,"I won't do it again, I promise. I just wanted to make sure you are OK."

That seemed to get through to the other, because while his eyes were still wide and unblinking, he now looked down at his left hand, the free one that he had cradled against his chest. He opened it slowly and Billy was relieved to see it undamaged by his touch. He blinked a few times and then his eyes, as bright and blue as the clear sky above them, focused on Billy again.

„You can see me? You touched me, can you really see me?" The ghost (was he even still a ghost at this point?) asked Billy, his voice shaken and his tone disbelieving.

„Yeah, I can see you all right." Billy answered. „Can you please point that somewhere else?" He asked politely, indicating the still aggressively glowing staff with a nodd. Billy lowered his hands and stood up when the boy complied and after a second of silence a radiant smile grew on the ghost's face. He threw his arms up victoriously, sending out a puff of ice crystals that rained down on them like confetti. „You can see me, you can really see me!" he laughed overjoyed and his eyes shone even brighter with dampness.

A moment later Billy was the center of a small whirlwind that doused him with lose snow, while the boy practically flew circles around him. „This is so amazing, finally a believer!" Billy was still very much confused but had to smile at the sight of the other's happiness. That was, until the snow tickled his nose and he had to sneeze again.

„achoo!"

The ghost stopped his celebration immediately and hovered in front of him, a worried expression on his face. „Hey, are you alright?" He came closer to get a better look. „Are you ill?"

„Nah, it's nothing, only a small cold. I'll be better in a few days," Billy tried to reassure him in his slightly nasal voice. It probably didn't work that well, but after an assessing once-over the other boy nodded and decided to drop it.

Billy remembered his manners and thought it was time for an introduction. „I'm Billy Batson by the way, nice to meet you," he said politely and offered his hand. He belatedly realised that it might not a good idea, as he was ill and also the other did not seem to like being touched or reached through, but the ghost boy just laughed and shook it with great enthusiasm. His skin was cool, but not unpleasantly so. „Jack Frost, herald of winter and spirit of mischief," he introduced himself and did a playful half-bow.

Now it was Billy's turn to be exited. His parents had told him about Jack Frost, who made it snow in winter and painted ice flowers on the houses windows over night. He never would have thought to meet this figure of legend in person, but it certainly made more sense than his ghost theory. „Really? Well, that explains the ice and the wind. Wow, I get to meet the real Jack Frost, this is so cool!"

„How come I can see you, though?" he wondered out loud. „You seemed to be invisible to the woman."

Jack's mood sobered a bit at that. „Well, it's because the others don't believe in me. I'm not exactly one of the more famous spirits and the adults," he gestured to the people hurrying blindly through the park, „wouldn't even notice Santa if he stood right before them. You are the first child who talked to me in… decades."

 _Wow,_ Billy thought. _That is a long time to be alone._ „I'm sorry about that," he said rather lamely, but couldn't think of anything better. Despite what one would think, Billy was a people person. Sure, not all of them were nice and some downright nasty,like his uncle who had only taken him in to steal his parent's inheritance. But most people were good at heart, like the woman at the diner who made him breakfast every morning, or the stranger who had given him a second blanket today, which he now carried in his backpack. While it sounded cool to be invisible, not being able to talk to anybody was probably very lonely.

Jack waved his condolences away. „Nah, I can talk to other spirits. Go annoy bunny a bit when I'm lonely. I prefer children, though." He winked.

„Wait, bunny as in the easter bunny? And you know Santa?" Billy's day got better and better. Glad to be talking about happier topics, he sat down in the snow again and patted the spot beside him in an invitation for Jack to join him.

„Sure, I know them," the spirit answered while settling. „Little rodent hates snow on easter and is a bit of a choleric. It's just too easy to rile him up. Santa is called North and he is a scary one, with the accent and the swords, but a teddy at heart. Tries to bribe me with cookies every year to give him a white Christmas."

„That sounds great." And really, it did. While Billy was more the boring kid, most of the time he sincerely approved of any mischief being made by others. „And you still rather hang out with kids?"

The question made the winter spirit smile a bit awkwardly. „Yeah, children are great. They are so carefree and… innocent in a way, I like that. And I like to see them laugh and smile. The other spirits are all so very important, 'We are Guardians, the Man in the Moon chose us to protect the world from evil.'" Jack changed his voice for that sentence, but Billy could only guess who he was mimicking. „But I don't care much for preparing big holidays or having to work every night. I like snowfights and ice-skating and sometimes sending a little blizzard so the children get the day off. Winter is the best time of the year and the kids get that, they go out and have all the fun they want." Jack stared off into the the distance.

 _So basically he doesn't fit in,_ Billy summarised it. Jack could try for nonchalance all he wanted, but it was clear that this was a sore spot for the spirit. And Billy could understand that, it was not like he had a real place or people to call home, either.

„Sorry, I'm being a downer. Let's talk about something else!" Jack tried to change the topic, but Billy was having none of it.

„Hey, there is two if us now, right?" Billy scooted over, so that his shoulder bumped into Jack's. It seemed that the spirit needed some physical assurance. „So if you ever want to hang out, or have a snowfight, or whatever, I'm all in."

„Just no blizzards til I'm healthy again, please," he felt necessary to add with a smile. Jack laughed and put an arm around him. „Ok, deal," the spirit said. And no matter how much he tried to hide it, Billy heard from his voice how deeply touched he was.

„achoo!" Billy sneezed again.

„Aaand that's it, you're going home," Jack stated matter-of-factly. „You're starting to look as pale as me and it's not your colour."

Billy was about to argue that he felt fine and didn't need to be mothered, but honestly his bottom started to freeze off where he sat on the hem of his coat. So he nodded and let himself be pulled up by Jack.

„Hope your parents aren't too worried. Where do you live?" his new friend asked, looking his cheerful self again and eager to accompany him home. Oh, Billy had been afraid this topic would come up sooner or later. It was not like he didn't trust Jack, the spirit neither would nor could rat him out to CPS and they seemed to have a lot in common, but… the truth was, Billy was a bit afraid of the other's reaction. Afraid of being pitied. Yes, living like this was hard, but he got by and it had been his own choice to run away and stay out of the system. What would Jack think if he showed him the truth? He would try to talk him into getting help. Or worse, he would feel bad for every snowflake he let lose in the city.

So he decided to keep quiet. But he wouldn't lie to his friend, it was a habit he never wanted to start with, so he answered „It's not far from here, just around the corner actually. But you don't need to take me there, I'll be fine on my own. Can we meet here again tomorrow? Same place, same time?"

„Yeah, I would like that," Jack answered and although he looked a bit thoughtful, he returned the hug Billy offered enthusiastically. „Take care Billy," he said and waved goodbye. „You, too! See you tomorrow!" Billy answered and waved back before disappearing around the corner.

He hadn't managed to find the materials he needed to cover the broken window, but he had made a good friend today. And as he got ready for the night, slipping under his new blanket, he thought that might be more worth than any worldly possessions. He was really looking forward to see Jack tomorrow.

When Billy woke up the next day, he was warm and felt as well-rested as he hadn't in quite some time. He opened his eyes to a blinding winter sun and had to blink sleepily a few times before he remembered the past day. Then he jumped up suddenly. Fighting against the dizziness that came with getting up too fast he looked around and found what had changed in his shelter: the broken window had been repaired. Well, not repaired like you would usually do it, there were still the same ragged pieces of broken glass stuck to the frame that had been there yesterday. But in between, a solid layer of ice had formed, effectively sealing the opening and cutting off the cold draft that had bothered him the night before. Looking more closely, he could make out delicate frost flowers in the ice that threw a beautiful pattern over the floor, thanks to the sun that shone brightly in the winter sky.

 _Well_ , Billy thought, smiling, _looks like I have someone who watches out for me now._


End file.
